Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 07/01/2024

American Residential Services LLC (“ARS,” “we,” “us,” “our”) works hard to build and maintain a relationship of trust with you. This Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) governs our collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information (as defined below) in connection with your use of our website(s) (“Sites”), such as www.ars.com and information we collect from you or third parties through any other means to provide our services or perform other business activities (collectively, “Services”).

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect about you, how we use or disclose that information, how to exercise any rights you may have with respect to your Personal Information (defined below), and the safeguards we have in place to reduce the risk of unauthorized access and use.

Please carefully read this Privacy Policy before using our Sites and/or Services. By Accessing or using our Sites and/or Services you agree to our use of your information consistent with the Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy, subject to your rights described below.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About this Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

How We Collect Information

Cookies and Interest-Based Advertising

Third Parties that Collect Information on Our Sites

How We Use and Share Information

Summary of How we Collect, Use and Disclose Personal Information

Children’s Privacy

Privacy Practices Related to Job Applicants

Data Retention

Additional California Consumer Rights

Virginia Consumer Privacy Rights

Colorado Consumer Privacy Rights

Utah Consumer

Oregon Consumer Privacy Rights

Texas Consumer Privacy Rights

Contact Us

ABOUT THIS PRIVACY POLICY

Privacy Policy Changes

This Privacy Policy is subject to change. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy frequently for any revisions or amendments. Unless otherwise stated, changes will be effective immediately upon posting. You will be deemed to have been made aware of and have accepted the changes by your continued use of our Sites or Services. If we determine that a change to this Privacy Policy will result in using your Personal Information acquired before the change in a materially new way, we will provide you notice before using your Personal Information in the new way.

Conflict Between This Policy and Local Laws and Regulations

When federal, state, and local laws and regulations require a higher level of protection for your Personal Information, they take precedence over this Privacy Policy. In addition, the specific requirements of this Privacy Policy will apply unless disallowed by local laws and regulations.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Personal Information

We collect information that personally identifies, relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with you (“Personal Information”), including:

• Personal identifiers and contact information such as name, mailing address, email address, phone number, signature;
• Account or service history such as equipment installed, your ARS branch, customer type (residential/commercial) and class (VIP/Gold/Silver), account balance and status, property descriptions and information;
• Audio/visual information such as call recordings, chat transcripts;
• Banking and financial information such as payment terms, debit/credit card number, expiration date; bank account and routing number;
• Characteristics of protected classifications such as age, gender or senior citizen status;
• Internet and network information such as IP address, browsing/search history, data collected through cookies;
• Geolocation data such as latitude and longitude of street for the house that received services;
• Other unique identifiers such as unique system generated sequence numbers for internal identification; and
• Inferences drawn from the above categories of Personal Information that relate to your credit, preferences, characteristics, behavior, attitudes and aptitudes.

The types of Personal Information we collect about you may vary based on how you use our Sites and/or Services, and your relationship with us.

Business Information

We also collect information about businesses and their representatives that engage with us such as EIN, TIN, address, phone number, email address, bank account information (collectively, “Business Information”).

Usage Data and Sites Activity

We automatically collect information in connection with the actions you take on our Sites (“Usage Data”). For example, each time you use our Sites, we automatically collect the type of web browser you use, the type of device you use, your operating system, your Internet Service Provider, the pages you view, referring and exit pages, the date and time of your visit, and the number of clicks to, from, and within our Sites, and the duration of your visits to our Sites. If this information is capable of being associated with you, directly or indirectly, we treat it as Personal Information. If this information is not capable of being individually associated with you, we treat it as Usage Data.

Communication Recordings

We may record calls and retain the content of text messages or other written/electronic communications between you and us. By communicating with us, you consent to our recording and retention of communications.

HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION

Voluntary Disclosure

We may ask you to provide us with Personal Information when you communicate with us online or offline, including events, surveys, and marketing or promotional programs. You are not required to provide us your Personal Information; however, if you choose not to provide the requested information, you may not be able to use some or all of the features of the Site or Services or we may not be able to fulfill your requested interaction.

Third-Party Data Sources

We may collect Personal Information from third-party data sources such as data brokers, consumer reporting agencies, marketing agencies and partners, analytics firms, and government agencies.

Cookies and Other Automated Tools

We use cookies (a small text file placed on your computer to identify your computer and browser) and other automated tools such as tracking pixels to improve the experience of the site and Services, such as saving your preferences from visit to visit to present you with a customized version of the Website. Many web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. Instructions for how to manage cookies in popular browsers are available at: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari (iOS), Safari (Mac), and Opera. However, certain features of our Sites may not work if you delete or disable cookies.

We use the following types of cookies:

• Session Cookies: Session cookies keep track of you or your information as you move from page to page within our Sites and are typically deleted once you close your browser.
• Persistent Cookies: Persistent cookies reside on your system and allow us to customize your experience if you leave and later return to our Sites. For example, persistent cookies may allow us to remember your preferences.
• Advertising Cookies: Advertising cookies are used to learn more about you and advertise products/services that might interest you.
• Analytics Cookies: Analytics cookies help us understand how our Sites are working and who is visiting our Sites. Google Analytics is one tool we use, and you can learn more by reviewing Google’s Privacy Policy.

We employ software technology that enables us to track certain aspects of a user’s visit to our Sites. This technology helps us better manage content on our Sites by informing us what content is effective, how consumers engage with our Sites, and how consumers arrive at and/or depart from our Sites. The software typically uses two methods to track user activity: (1) “tracking pixels” and (2) “clear gifs.” Tracking pixels are pieces of executable code that are embedded in a web page that track usage activity including which pages are viewed, when they are viewed, and how long the pages are viewed. Clear gifs are tiny graphics with unique identifiers which are embedded in web pages and email messages that track whether a user views a web page or email message. User activity information may be associated with additional information about a user’s session and Personal Information, if provided by the user.

If you arrive at our Sites by “clicking through” from another website, then certain information about you that you provided to that other website, such as the terms you searched that led you to our Sites, may be transmitted to us and we may use it. You should review the Privacy Policy of any website from which you reached our Sites to determine what information the operator collects and how it uses such information. We may retain information about you provided to us by other websites and will use it in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Such information may be associated with other Usage Data or Personal Information.

Interest-Based Advertising

We may work with third-party advertisers, search providers, and ad networks (“Advertisers”) to learn more about you and show you ads or other content that we believe would be relevant to you. Advertisers may collect and use information about your use of our Sites or Services as well as other websites and services. These companies may use cookies and other online tracking technologies to collect and use your information. We and/or Advertisers may also append other data to the data collected by Advertisers to create an interest profile of individual users. Our Privacy Policy does not cover any use of information that an Advertiser may collect from you. Advertisements may be shown via our Sites or on third-party websites. If you do not want to receive interest-based advertising, please visit the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Consumer Choice Page. The DAA website allows you to opt-out of one or more interest-based advertising networks. Opt-outs are device and browser specific; therefore, you will need to set your opt-out preferences for each device and browser. Deleting browser cookies can remove your opt-out preferences; however, the DAA offers browser extensions that help preserve the opt-out preferences you set on the DAA's Consumer Choice Page. Please note that opt-outs only apply to interest-based advertising. You may still receive other types of online advertising.

Information from Advertisements

If you arrive at our Sites via an advertisement (e.g., banner ad), we may collect information regarding the advertisement with which you interacted and your interactions (e.g., item clicked, date and time).

Social Media Widgets

The Sites may include social media features, such as the Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter widgets. These features may collect information about your IP address and the pages you visit on our site as well as other Personal Information. A cookie may be set to ensure that a feature properly functions. Your interactions with features are governed by the privacy policies of the companies that provide them.

Co-branded Partners

If you come to ARS via a co-branded partner and transact business with us, the information you provide may be collected and used by ARS as well as by the co-branded partner from which you came. ARS is not responsible for the use that the co-branded partner makes of this information.

To help you identify when you are on the ARS website we place our logo in the upper left corner to indicate that you are within our website.

THIRD PARTIES THAT COLLECT INFORMATION ON OUR SITES

Third parties, including Advertisers, collect Personal Information and/or Usage Data from users of our Sites using automatic information collection tools such as cookies and tracking pixels. These third parties’ collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information and/or Usage Data is governed by their data policies.

HOW WE USE AND SHARE INFORMATION

Generally

We use Personal Information for internal purposes, such as to:

• Account creation, fulfillment, servicing and customer support: to create customer accounts, allow customers to create online accounts and profiles, provide goods or services, keep customers informed about the status of their services, respond to questions and address customers concerns, deliver updates, upgrades and product improvement information;
• Marketing and market research: to send communications and offers for our or third parties’ products and services, including offers based on consumers’ interests, personal and business characteristics and location, perform analytics for market and consumer research, trend analysis, financial analysis, and anonymization of personal information;
• Collection and credit reporting: to collect on outstanding balances, update credit reporting agencies;
• Surveys, promotional events, contests: to administer surveys, polls, sweepstakes, contests and other promotional events and contests;
• Other company communications: to provide consumers with information that may be of interest such as company newsletters, announcements, reminders and service bulletins;
• Website use and analytics: to provide you with access to and use of our Sites and Services, analyze consumers’ use of our websites, including the use of third-party web analytics services, which may utilize automated technologies to collect data (such as email and IP addresses);
• Eligibility and pricing: to determine if consumers are eligible for certain products, services or offers and the pricing related to such offers;
• Product research: to conduct research and analysis for maintaining, protecting, and developing services, increase and maintain the safety of our products and services, and prevent misuse;
• Business operations: to evaluate, develop, and improve business operations, products and services offered, perform business administration and other normal business activities;
• Compliance: to comply with applicable legal requirements, industry standards, contractual obligations, our policies, and take actions that we deem necessary to preserve and enforce our rights and the rights of others; and
• Information security and fraud prevention: to operate information security and anti-fraud programs.

Reviews and Testimonials

If you provide a review or testimonial, we may post it publicly on our Sites or in other advertising material. By providing a testimonial, you give us permission to use it in any manner and for any purpose, including in marketing and advertising communications.

Service Providers

We may provide your Personal Information to other businesses (“Service Providers”) to provide services to us or on our behalf. Categories of service providers we use include:

• Fulfillment and account servicing vendors, which help us provide products, services and information to you, service your account or benefits, and perform payment processing services;
• Marketing and communications vendors, which help us market our products/services to you, conduct promotions, surveys and other outreach campaigns;
• Research and development vendors, which help us develop and improve our products and services;
• Data and business analytics vendors, which help us collect, analyze and improve the accuracy of our data (including Personal Information);
• IT and network administration vendors, which provide services such as data storage and management, website hosting, and data security;
• General service providers, which help us with day-to-day business operations such as office support services, courier services, facilities management, and document destruction; and
• Professional service firms, which provide accounting, legal, HR and other professional services.

Each Service Provider is expected to use reasonable security measures appropriate to the nature of the information involved to protect your Personal Information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Service Providers are prohibited from using Personal Information that we provide to them other than as specified by us.

Third-Party Sharing

We may share or sell your Personal Information with other companies who do not provide services to us (“Third Parties”), such as retailers, equipment manufacturers, and companies that provide other home services. Categories of Personal Information that we sell may include personal identifiers and contact information; account or service history; internet and network information; inferences drawn from other Personal Information.

SECURITY

We recognize the importance of safeguarding the confidentiality of Personal Information from loss, misuse, or alteration. Accordingly, we employ commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect Personal Information from unauthorized access, disclosure, and use. Even with these safeguards, no data transmission over the Internet or other network can be guaranteed 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect information transmitted on or through our Sites or Services, you do so at your own risk.

COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

We cooperate with government and law enforcement officials and private parties to enforce and comply with the law. We may disclose Personal Information and any other information about you to government or law enforcement officials or private parties if, in our discretion, we believe it is necessary or appropriate to: respond to legal requests (including court orders, investigative demands and subpoenas); protect the safety, property, or rights of ourselves, consumers, or any other third party; prevent or stop any illegal, unethical, or legally actionable activity; or comply with laws.

LINKS

The Sites may contain links to third party websites including social media platforms. Please be aware that if you access these links, you will be leaving our site. We encourage users to read the privacy policies of those sites, as we are not responsible for their content, links, or privacy procedures.

OTHER TRANSFERS

We may share Personal Information and Usage Data with businesses controlling, controlled by, or under common control with us. If we are merged, acquired or sold, or in the event of a transfer of some or all of our assets, we may disclose or transfer Personal Information and Usage Data in connection with such transaction.

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

The Sites and Services are not intended for children under the age of 16 and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 16. If we become aware that we have inadvertently received Personal Information from a child under the age of 16, we will delete such information from our records.

PRIVACY PRACTICES RELATED TO JOB APPLICANTS

If you apply for or accept an offer of employment, we may collect:

• Personal identifiers and contact information such as name, address, social security number, driver’s license number, alien registration number, passport number, signature;
• Educational information such as educational institutions attended, degrees received, college transcripts;
• Professional/employment information such as resumes, CVs, positions held, tenure, references, skill assessments;
• Internet & network information browsing/search history, data collected by cookies;
• Characteristics of protected classifications such as age, race, disabilities, citizenship;
• Medical information such as drug test results, doctors’ notes, LOA forms, workers compensation forms;
• Banking, financial and insurance information such as checking account and routing numbers for direct deposits, 401(k) account information, loans, mortgage documents and garnishment information, insurance policies and coverages;
• Geolocation information from mobile applications and vehicles or vehicle equipment;
• Beneficiary information such as the names, social security numbers and gender of your beneficiaries;
• Inferences drawn from the above categories of Personal Information that relate to your characteristics, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities and aptitudes, including criminal background information and driving history.

We may use this information to evaluate candidates for initial and continued employment; conduct background checks and drug screening; communicate with you; provide training and mentoring; provide benefits, services, and accommodations; maintain company security; facilitate company policies; comply with legal and contractual obligations; and otherwise operate our business.

DATA RETENTION

ARS will retain your personal information only for the amount of time reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we are processing your personal information unless the law permits or requires us to retain your personal information for a longer period.

ADDITIONAL CALIFORNIA CONSUMER RIGHTS

If you are a resident of California, you have additional rights to access and control your Personal Information, including a right to request that we disclose the Personal Information we collect, use, disclose, and sell, under the California Consumer Privacy Act.

Right to Know

You have the right to request twice per 12-month period that we provide you (i) the categories or specific pieces of Personal Information we collected about you; (ii) the categories of sources from which your Personal Information was collected; (iii) the business or commercial purpose for which we collect, sell or share your Personal Information; (iv) the categories of Third Parties with whom we shared your Personal Information; (v) the categories of Third Parties to whom we sold your Personal Information; and (vi) the specific pieces of Personal Information that we've collected. We are not permitted to provide access to specific pieces of Personal Information if the Personal Information is sensitive or creates a high risk of potential harm from disclosure to an unauthorized person such as financial information, social security numbers, and driver’s license numbers.

To request access to your Personal Information and the information listed above, you may submit a request through our “What Information Do You Have on Me” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page. This page has more information about how you can verify your identity or designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf.

Right to Deletion

You have the right to request that we delete any Personal Information we have collected about you. Please understand that we are not required to honor a deletion request if a legal exemption applies such as if we need the information to complete a requested or reasonably anticipated transaction, prevent security incidents or fraud, enable internal uses that are reasonably aligned with your expectations, or comply with legal obligations.

To request deletion of your Personal Information and the information listed above, you may submit a request through our “Delete My Information” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page. This page has more information about how you can verify your identity or designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf.

Right to Correct Personal Information

You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information about you. To request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information about you, you may submit a request through our “Correct My Personal Information” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page. This page has more information about how you can verify your identity or designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf.

Right to Opt-Out from the Selling or Sharing of Personal Information

You have the right to direct us not to sell or share your Personal Information to Third Parties. Once we receive and verify your request, we will not sell or share your Personal Information unless you later allow us to do so. You may exercise your Right to Opt-Out by submitting a request via our “Do Not Sell/Share My Info” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page. This page has more information about how you can verify your identity or designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf.

Right to Limit the Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information

In some instances, we may collect or disclose certain Personal Information that is considered “sensitive personal information.” We do not use or disclose consumer’s sensitive Personal Information to infer characteristics about a consumer, or for purposes other than those set forth in the CCPA. Please understand that we may use certain pieces of sensitive personal information if a legal exemption applies, if we need the information to complete a requested or reasonably anticipated transaction, to prevent security incidents or fraud, enable internal uses that are reasonably aligned with your expectations, or comply with legal obligations.

Non-Discrimination Notice

We will not discriminate against any individual for exercising their privacy rights under law or this Privacy Policy.

California “Do Not Track” Disclosure

Do Not Track is a web browser privacy preference that causes the web browser to broadcast a signal to websites requesting that a user’s activity not be tracked. ARS does not track its customers over time and across third party websites to provide targeted advertising and therefore, at this time, our Sites and Services do not respond to “do not track” signals. However, some third party sites do keep track of your browsing activities when they serve you content, which enables them to tailor what they present to you. If you are visiting such sites, your website browser may allow you to set the “do not track” signal on your browser so that third parties know you do not want to be tracked. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with or sold to any third parties.

Authorized Agent

If you are an authorized agent submitting a request for another California resident, you must provide a copy of a lawful power of attorney or written authorization from the Consumer (along with proof of your identity). We may contact you or the Consumer on whose behalf you claim to act to verify your authorization.

VIRGINIA CONSUMER PRIVACY RIGHTS

If you are a resident of Virginia, you have additional rights to access and control your Personal Data pursuant to the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act:

• Right to Confirm and Access. You have the right to confirm whether we are processing your Personal Data and you have the right to access such Personal Data. You may submit a request through our “What Information Do You Have on Me” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page.

• Right to Correct. You have the right to correct inaccuracies in your Personal Data, taking into account the nature of the Personal Data and the purposes of processing the Personal Data. You may submit a request through our “Correct My Personal Information” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page.

• Right to Delete. You have the right to delete Personal Data provided by or obtained about you. You may submit a request through our “Delete My Information” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page.

• Right to Obtain a Copy. You have the right to obtain a copy of your Personal Data that you previously provided to us in a portable, and to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows you to transmit the data to another data controller without hindrance, where the processing is carried out by automated means. You may submit a request through our “What Information Do You Have on Me” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page.

• Right to Opt-Out. You have the right to opt-out of the processing of your Personal Data for the following purposes: 1) targeted advertising, 2) the sale of your Personal Data, or 3) conducting profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning you. You may exercise your Right to Opt-Out by submitting a request via our “Do Not Sell/Share My Info” request page or by calling us at the number provided through the request page. We will obtain your opt-in consent prior to collecting “sensitive” Personal Data.

• Right to Appeal. If we refuse to take action regarding your exercise of any of the rights described in this section, you may appeal our refusal to do so by contacting us as provided below.